23 July, 2010

Six new Hadruroides from Peru

Jose Ochoa and Lorenzo Prendini have recently published six new species in the genus Hadruroides (Caraboctonidae*) from Peru:

Hadruroides chinchaysuyu Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*
H. geckoi Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*
H. graceae Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*
H. juanchararroi Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*
H. tishqu Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*
H. vichayitos Ochoa & Prendini, 2010*

*The authors prefer to use the Prendni & Wheeler system for higher scorpion taxonomy and have listed Hadruroides as a member of the family Iuridae.

The authors have included an indentification key for Hadruroides in Peru.

Abstract:
We review the taxonomy of the Hadruroides Pocock, 1893 (Iuridae: Caraboctoninae), scorpions of Peru, describe six new species from the north of the country, and report new records of other poorly known species. The description of these species raises to 16 the number of described species in the genus, 13 of which occur in Peru. Four species inhabit dry forest in northern Peru: H. charcasus (Karsch, 1879); H. chinchaysuyu, n. sp.; H. geckoi, n. sp.; H. leopardus Pocock, 1900. Three species occur in inter-Andean valleys along the Cordillera: H. bustamantei Ochoa and Chaparro, 2008; H. carinatus Pocock, 1900; H. mauryi Francke and Soleglad, 1980. Six species inhabit desert along the Pacific coast: H. aguilari Francke and Soleglad, 1980; H. graceae, n. sp.; H. juanchaparroi, n. sp.; H. lunatus (L. Koch, 1867); H. tishqu, n. sp.; H. vichayitos, n. sp. Most species of Hadruroides have restricted distributions, except H. charcasus and H. lunatus, which are apparently more widely distributed. We consider it necessary to reassess all previous records of the latter two species, because we suspect several are based on misidentifications.

Reference:
Ochoa JA, Prendini L. The Genus Hadruroides Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones: Iuridae), in Peru: New Records and Descriptions of Six New Species. American Museum Novitates. 2010 Jun(3687):1-56. [Free fulltext]

Family Caraboctonidae

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